10 Things to Remember When Receiving Communion (Catholic Caucus)

Aletelia ^ | December 21, 2015 | Deacon Greg Kandra

[NYer]

Churches will be crowded soon with more people heading to Mass who don’t regularly attend. We’ll all be seeing some unfamiliar faces in the pews. And I know I’ll be seeing people in the Communion line I’ve never seen before; some will be casual Christmas-and-Easter Catholics, some will be visitors from out of town. And inevitably, I know I’ll be seeing people receive the sacrament in some creative ways.

(In my parish, we stopped distributing the Precious Blood a couple years ago, during one of our big flu outbreaks, and the practice was never restored.)

People will debate this until the Second Coming, but the fact remains: reverent reception of the Body of Christ goes far beyond kneeling vs. standing or tongue vs. hand.  I’ve seen people receive reverently and irreverently in every way imaginable.  Attitude is everything. Catechesis matters. So does local custom.

But whatever you do, don’t do this:

1. Don’t hold out your your hand if you don’t want to receive in the hand.  This happened to me recently. The guy in the communion line nearly fell over trying to bend down and get the host with his mouth before it landed on his hand. I had to stop him. “What do you want to do?,” I asked. He sheepishly grinned and held out his hand. “Sorry,” he whispered.
2. If you receive in the hand, no gloves.
3. If you receive on the tongue, no biting. Please.
4. No mints or lozenges during Mass. I’ve given communion to people on the tongue and couldn’t help but notice what appeared to be colorful stains left by cough drops.
5. Remember: you are receiving communion, not taking it. Don’t reach up and grab the host. (A priest I know refers to these communicants as “The Body Snatchers.”)

And do: 

1. While in line, reflect on what you are doing and why—and whom you are about to receive.
2. Make yourself open to awe. Let’s face it: this is awesome.
3. Consume the Body of Christ then and there. Don’t grab and go. I’ve lost count of the number of people I’ve had to stop because they walked away with the host before consuming it.
4. Allow yourself to be changed—and to grow in grace. A familiar hymn says “we become what we receive.” Think about that. (Again: this is awesome.)
5. Never forget: People died so we could do this. Others around the world are dying for doing it. Still more yearn to be able to do it and, for any number of reasons, can’t. This can’t be overstated: what we receive is a miracle and a gift. We should never take it casually, ever.  Eucharist, after all, means “thanksgiving.” So give thanks—and give glory to The One who has made this humbling gift of grace possible.

Finally: No matter how you receive, receive what has been given with wonder and love and joy. At the moment we receive communion, we welcome Christ into our world—just as Mary, the shepherds and the wise men did. The same feelings that warmed that stable in Bethlehem all those centuries ago should illuminate our hearts every time we welcome Christ here and now.

Every Mass is Calvary. But every reception of the Eucharist is, in a sense, Bethlehem: the “house of bread,” the place where God enters into our lives, our history, our hearts, our bodies.  We should cherish that when we step forward to receive Communion. As God first visited the world and dwelled among us as a baby, so he comes to us now, in a fragile and humble piece of bread.

Behold the Lamb of God!

O come, let us adore! 

[NYer]

CATHOLIC CAUCUS

[soycd]

Let’s not forget that Jacob Dumb may be in the mix ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWHX2B967oA

[Salvation]

“Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”

[o_1_2_3__]

Should one smack the person in front of him if the line isn’t moving fast enough, as I witnessed one of the faithful, eager to receive the Body and Blood of his Lord, do one Sunday morning?

[Albion Wilde]

bump

[Talisker]

Should one smack the person in front of him if the line isn’t moving fast enough, as I witnessed one of the faithful, eager to receive the Body and Blood of his Lord, do one Sunday morning?

Many times I've wanted to ask people, "why are you even here"?

[warsaw44]

I wanted to ask that very question to an annoyed, sneering priest as I attempted to receive communion on the tongue.

I do not touch the body of Christ with my hands. I am beyond unworthy and will not do so.

[NYer]

I do not touch the body of Christ with my hands. I am beyond unworthy and will not do so.

In the Maronite (Eastern) Catholic Church, communion is by intinction and on the tongue. There is no communion in the hand, nor are there an Extraordinary Ministers of Communion. It is distributed by a priest and deacon. One visitor a while back refused to take communion on the tongue and never returned. Guess for some folks, it's a power issue. She was a seasoned senior. There are several Maronite Churches in MA, You might enjoy attending a Divine Liturgy at one of them. It is very reverent.

[Organic Panic]

I am not Catholic. But I do have a legit question.

(In my parish, we stopped distributing the Precious Blood a couple years ago, during one of our big flu outbreaks, and the practice was never restored.)

Couldn't the priest put the wine (Holy Blood) in a spray bottle and squirt some in to the mouth? Is there a requirement that the wine must be drank from a goblet?

[Salvation]

Not a goblet — a chalice.

[warsaw44]

Thanks, my friend.

I think I will take a look into one of those Churches. The experience I recalled took place in a parish in Maine while during Christmas.

I never look forward to going there.

[NewCenturions]

Bookmarking

[o_1_2_3__]

Me too. It's a real distraction for me, which I guess is my problem.

I actually witnessed that episode in what was (past-tense) arguably THE single most orthodox and conservative parish in NYC.

Nowadays...oy. Can you say "Fundamental transformation"?

I was scoping out a parish on the West Side, thinking, "yeah, it's a got a good name, it's close by..." and the next morning the sidewalk in front of it is filled with foreigners...don't know the details of that but I can sure guess...and as I walk up to the marquis looking for the confession schedule ('cause God knows I need it) I can feel priest out front staring daggers at me (I'm a conservatively dressed white male)...

Gawd I'm so over it.

[o_1_2_3__]

/rant

[Jack023]

Here’s a good article that may help answer your question:

http://articles.earthlingshandbook.org/2014/11/12/the-common-cold-and-the-common-cup-does-communion-spread-germs/

[NYer]

I was scoping out a parish on the West Side, thinking, "yeah, it's a got a good name, it's close by..." and the next morning the sidewalk in front of it is filled with foreigners...don't know the details of that but I can sure guess...and as I walk up to the marquis looking for the confession schedule ('cause God knows I need it) I can feel priest out front staring daggers at me (I'm a conservatively dressed white male)...

Have you visited Church of St. Michael on W. 34th St.? Fr. George Rutler is the pastor and very conservative. He and Dolan have locked horns over his orthodoxy.

[NYer]

There is also The Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral, downtown. The Shrine Church of the Most Precious Blood will remain open 24/7 for the duration of the Year of Mercy.

[FourtySeven]

I can see why you may suggest this because it would seem at first blush to minimize the risk of the Precious Blood being spilled but there are a number of problems with your suggestion:

First, any kind of misting or atomizing device such as you suggest would in fact compound the danger of sacrilidge. Every fine droplet would be the Blood as much as any discernible taste or sip, and those fine droplets would have just as much of a tendency to float in air and float away as go into a mouth. So you could have potentially thousands of droplets of Blood going everywhere but where it’s intended.

Secondly, at the end of Mass such a device would invariably have some of the Blood still in the pumping mechanism of the device, so again there’s sacrilidge there as it would be difficult to dispose of the excess properly. Normally the excess must be either consumed, poured out into a special “sink” (the special name of which escapes me at the moment) that has a pipe that doesn’t go to the sewer or anywhere else but straight into the earth. Or it must be diluted with Holy Water and that dilution consumed. Typically that last portion is done by the priest at Mass as you see him “cleaning” the vessels. I suppose one could dilute what’s left in the pumping mechanism but it wouldn’t work very well as described above.

Thirdly and perhaps most important, it wouldn’t be very fitting to squirt Jesus through a sprayer as if He were some kind of disinfectant. We believe the Blood is as much His Body (and Blood) as the consecrated bread, so it’s literally Jesus present under the appearance of wine. It just wouldn’t be right to treat Him like some kind of air freshener. This is the Creator we are talking about here the Second Person of the Trinity.

[ops33]

Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof but just speak the words and my soul shall be healed.